Overview

The political strength of Henry VIII's regime lay in his ability to choose advisors who were both wise and learned. One of these men was Sir Brian Tuke. As Master of the Posts, he organized and established England's postal service. In 1528 Sir Brian was appointed treasurer and secretary of the royal household, a position he held until his death in 1545. He was also admired as an eloquent speaker and literary figure who authored a preface to an edition of Chaucer.

The portrait, which shows Tuke at the age of 57, exemplifies the qualities most praised in Holbein's work: precise observation of detail and impartial, accurate portrayal of the face. Yet the image is also tinged with gentle sorrow. On the table beneath Tuke's left hand is a folded paper bearing a quotation from the Book of Job (10:20) which begins, "Are not my days few?" The gravity of the sentiment is echoed in Tuke's countenance; his faint smile is pained and his eyes, fixed but not focused, seem melancholy.

[1] The first published reference to the painting is Johann David Passavant, Tour of a German Artist in England, 2 vols., London, 1836: 2:87. For the history of the collection see Corsham Court, Wiltshire, 1983: 23-31. There is no way of knowing if the portrait of Sir Brian Tuke belonging to Robert Sidney, Lord Lisle, and seen by John Evelyn on 27 August 1678, is the Gallery's panel or another version, although this is sometimes given as part of the provenance; see E.S. de Beer, ed., The Diary of John Evelyn, 6 vols., Oxford, 1955: 4, 143.

[2] The copy of the Christie's sale catalogue of the Sanderson collection in the possession of the Provenance Index of the Getty Art History Information Program, Santa Monica, has a hand written inscription in the margin, of "Seguier" or possibly "Leguin". Martha Hepworth's letter of 2 August 1988 to Susan E. Davis, in NGA curaorial files, notes that this is a later annotation by Frank Simpson, Librarian at the Barber Institute. The person has not been identified; William Seguier, the dealer, restorer, and first Keeper of the National Gallery, London, died in 1843.

[3] Ralph Nicholson Wornum, Some Account of the Life and Works of Hans Holbein, Painter, of Augsburg, London, 1867: 294, is the first mention of the painting as being in the possession of the Marquis of Westminster, but notes that it was brought for the Marquis at the Sanderson sale of 1848. This is not independently verified, but if so, then the name in the margin of the catalogue could refer to the agent.

[4] Denys Sutton, "Robert Langton Douglas. Part III." Apollo 109 (1979): 423-425, and the Getty Provenance Index. Douglas' letter of 6 May 1913 to Johnson is in the Archive of the John G. Johnson Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art; see Lawrence W. Nichols, letter of 29 March 1990 to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files. See also letter from Douglas to Fowles dated 1 May 1941, Duveen Brothers Records, Box 244 (reel 299).

[5] Nancy C. Little, Librarian, M. Knoedler & Co., letter of 4 December 1978 to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files, states that the painting was purchased from Colnaghi's on 20 May 1913 and sold to W.B. Dickerman in April 1914.

[6] Nancy C. Little, letter of 4 December 1978, cited in note 5.

Exhibition History

1868

Third Special Exhibition of National Portraits, South Kensington Museum, London, 1868, no. 625.

1880

Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School, Royal Academy, London, 1880, no. 188.

Hand, John Oliver, with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield. German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 91-97, color repro. 93.

Technical Summary

[1] Also on the reverse is a paper sticker that reads: 93007D/40 x
56/Knoedler/pour ce soir/5 heures.
[2] Peter Klein, examination report, 3 December 1986, and letter to the author,
28 March 1990, in NGA curatorial files.